The ley to maintaining a physical fitness routine, whatever it may be, is to stick with it long enough so it becomes a habit. Part of your daily routine. No different then brushing your teeth.

How many of us have come home so exhausted, you just want to collapse into bed. But we know we have to take the time to change into our sleeping clothes and brush our teeth. No matter how exhausted we may be, we follow through with these necessary tasks. It’s no different with exercising. For those of us in the north, who work out in the morning, the last thing we want to do on a cold blistery day, is schlep to the gym to get a workout in. Yet we do it. Why? Because it’s a habit. Just like brushing your teeth. And afterward, there is a sense of accomplishment. Knowing that you didn’t want to do it, but you did. And you give yourself a metaphorical pat on the back for getting through it.

It’s no different then anything else in life. We’ve all experienced tough situations where we just had to suck it up and get through it.

So what can we do to somehow motivate ourselves to stick with physical fitness long enough until it becomes a habit?

Find Something Appealing

Pick an activity (or range of activities) that appeals to you. Activities that you are confident you can manage physically, and that suit your lifestyle and your income. And make sure activity is close to home or work.

Start Small

Aim to just include more general activity into your day, working toward a continuous bout of exercise for about 10 minutes per day at first, and gradually work your way up to 30 minutes or more.

Set Realistic Goals

For example, rather than aiming for a set amount of weight loss, aim for 4 activity sessions per week.

Find a Friend

Or family member to be active with. Motivate and reward each other and enjoy the process together.

No Fun No Future

Replace the ‘no pain no gain’ message with ‘no fun no future’. If you don’t enjoy your activity, it won’t be sustainable.

Commit

Make the commitment. Put ‘exercise appointments’ in your diary, at least for the first few weeks, until exercise becomes a habit.

Enjoy the Endorphins

Working out is great for reliving stress and getting the endorphins flowing. We all have different motivations to exercise. Think about how you feel when you’re exercising and how you feel after you’ve exercised. Keep in mind your personal fitness goals to help you on those days when you don’t feel like lacing up your sneakers.

Forget Weight Loss (initially)

Don’t make weight loss your primary goal. Remember that research indicates you don’t need to lose weight to gain significant health benefits. Besides, if your exercise to the point it becomes a habit, you can be certain that weight loss it bound to follow. At worse, the weight gain will stop, which is an achievement in itself.

Break the Monotony

Listen to a podcast or your favorite music when working out. Rather than focusing on the workout, focus on what you are listening to while you do your exercise routines in the background. This takes your mind off the monotony and exhaustion and makes the workout go faster.

Just Do It! 😊

Above all else, just start! This is obviously important to you or you would not have taken the steps to change your behavior, so make exercise a priority in your life until it becomes a habit.